A tale of two diets: paleo vs. vegan

Diet trends come and go, but in this past decade two have emerged that stand in stark contrast to each other, both philosophically and in what is consumed.

Think of it as a tale of two diets: paleo versus vegan.

One is newish: The paleo concept was explored in 1985 when The New England Journal of Medicine ran an article titled “Paleothic Nutrition.” Veganism has had practitioners for centuries — St. Francis of Assisi and Leonardo da Vinci were reportedly vegans. Both movements have gathered steam in the United States, spawning their own cottage industries.

Proponents of the paleo diet, also dubbed the “caveman diet,” believe we should eat like our hunter-gatherer ancestors did in the Paleolithic Era, which ended around 12,000 years ago. The diet is big on meat-derived proteins and unprocessed produce. It shuns gluten, legumes and refined cooking oils. Dairy products are also frowned on by some pro-paleo people.

Vegans avoid animal-derived foods such as meat, fish and eggs, as well as dairy products such as milk and butter. Even honey is off limits for purists. Proteins are derived from vegetable sources — including the “supergrain” quinoa — which, eaten in variety, deliver the essential amino acids found in meats. Bread is acceptable, though some anti-gluten vegans avoid it and certain other grains.

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Both diets have their merits and champions.

Rich Roll, 47, is an elite athlete who is a vegan. The Californian says the diet gives him plenty of fuel: He has completed the EPIC5 — five Ironman triathlons on 5 different Hawaiian islands — in six days.

“It allows me to train harder, longer and more frequently,” Roll said via e-mail from a boat voyage. “Protracted out over a number of years, this has resulted in massive performance gains.”

Roll, who describes himself as a recovering alcoholic, says the diet is one of the things that turned his life around.

He doesn't pooh-pooh the paleo diet, however, saying there are “many great things about it.”

“But I do not subscribe to the idea that animal protein is necessary for athletic performance,” he said, adding that he gets all the protein he needs from plants.

Veganism can be far more than a diet. For some proponents, it's also an ethos on how we treat other creatures. Vegans often avoid animal-derived products in general, such as leather, silk, wool and even honey.

LaBure was attracted to the vegan movement from an animal-rights standpoint, but quickly found health benefits, as well.

“I weighed 280 pounds when I started, and my blood pressure and cholesterol levels were really out of whack,” he said. “I lost 40 pounds my first year, and am now down to 220 pounds. And now in my doctor visits, all my numbers are right where they should be.”

He says he also found himself with more energy and mental alertness.

LaBure concedes there was a learning curve.

“I grew up in Texas and was raised on a hardcore traditional diet there,” he said. “So it was barbecue and steaks, plus McDonald's every day. I honestly didn't want to give up meat, but the research I did convinced me I should.”

LaBure's palate changed. “Today I appreciate greens more — I find them a better source of calcium than milk,” he said. “And now when I eat an apple it tastes like candy.”

But Loren Cordain, a former professor of health and exercise science at Colorado State University, says the paleo diet reflects the way our digestive systems evolved in the days of foraging and flint tools.

Cordain, often credited as being the movement's founder, has called it “the diet to which our species is genetically adapted.”

At first glance, the claims that a meat-rich diet can lower risks of heart disease seem counterintuitive. But proponents note that the meat eaten by our ancestors was far different from what we ingest today. A 100-gram serving of bison has about 2.4 grams of fat, and 0.9 grams of saturated fat, while a 100-gram beef T-bone contains 23 grams of fat, 9 of those grams saturated.

Mark Bookman, a longtime Denver weightlifter who switched to the paleo diet two years ago, says the change has boosted his performance.

“I'm 52, and that's a time when it starts getting harder to make gains in the weight room,” he said. “I'd been stuck on a plateau for a while, but after about a month on the diet I started increasing my poundages.”

Bookman said the diet has given him more energy, and he attributes the gluten-free nature of it to improving his digestion.

“I'm a believer,” he said.

Jessica Emich, who co-owns Shine Restaurant & Gathering Place, a paleo-centric restaurant in Boulder, became convinced of the diet's virtues while working on her master's degree in holistic nutrition.

“This paleo way of eating seems to be the one with the widest benefits to the most people,” Emich said. “It's very clean eating, very simple eating.

“We're basically healing our guts by not having additives in our food.”

An emphasis on fresh foods in both the paleo and vegan diets means an abundance of potassium and far lower salt levels than you get in processed foods, which enhances healthy blood pressure.

And the diets also help manage blood sugar levels, crucial to everyone, but especially to people who have hypoglycemia or type-2 diabetes.

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